Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - I'll Be Gone in the Dark

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I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

157 reviews

hongstoes's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

I absolutely loved this read and would recommend it to anyone interested in true crime or not. It is so immersive and well-written. My only complaint is that it gets a little slower toward the end of part 2, but I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

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beccaand's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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hidemybook's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious medium-paced

3.5

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lorettalucia's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This book was excellently written, but it has made me conclude that being this obsessed with a serial killer can be incredibly harmful to your mental health. More fascinating for me than the story of the killer was the impact the case had on Michelle McNamara. I’m honestly sorry it caught her attention—it feels like she was the Golden State Killer’s final victim.

I’m very glad I read it but this particular type of true crime is not for me. I ended up having nightmares and yeah, I just don’t wanna do this to my brain again.

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carriebp's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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megbert21's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

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jennifersmind's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

3.5

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zias's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

5.0

Michelle McNamara’s writing is easy to read, weaving harrowing accounts with facts and research. I enjoyed the memoir portions of this book in addition to the coverage of the GSK’s crimes and her research. I got chills several times while reading this book. Michelle has a way with words while reporting on research.

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teganbeesebooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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notlikethebeer's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

3.25

This is a really hard book to review. Part of that comes from the book being pieced together post-humously: there are several sections that were written based on McNamara's notes, rather than anything else. Given that it's complicated enough as it is - spanning decades, with a vast number of names to remember, and an ever-merging number of horrific crimes - the somewhat disjointed writing doesn't help! But equally, it is to be expected. I do think that there were better ways of arranging this, I felt very confused and the jumping between time and events didn't happen. As well, there were some threads that were begun and then just... lost.

Something I've heard about this book, and part of the reason I wanted to read it, is that it's meant to be very victim-centric, in a way that true crime often is not. There definitely was a lot of space given to the victims, including narratives of their life before they became victims. However, I don't know whether I'd describe the victims as being centered as such. McNamara was definitely eager to talk about gory details. And that has made me question, even more, whether victims CAN be centered within the true crime genre.

I think, as well, I would have liked some more reflexivity. McNamara was so caught up in this "mystery", and at times she talked a little about the desire to know, the urge to solve a puzzle. I also appreciated that she thought a little about her own experiences, and their relevance. However I never really understood why this "story" in particular, or why to such an intensity.

On that note, it's hard not to read IBGITD and wonder a little about McNamara's life, and the others in her life. I wonder what her daughter's autobiography might read like: whether she feels she even got to share her mother with this obsession. It IS an obsession, that clearly infiltrated every part of her life. Of course, I'm an outsider, but it does seem that it wasn't to a healthy degree. I'm struck by the knowledge that McNamara is believed to have died from an accidental overdose from various drugs. I wonder how much of her obsessive drive to solve a mystery she initially had no stake in lead to that. It's easy, in reading IBGITD, to wonder whether there is any harm in 'civilians' becoming involved in investigations, if they have the skills and can genuinely provide a benefit. Thinking about McNamara's lack of boundaries is just one example of the harms this can bring (note, just one!).

I will allow that we don't know whether this was the book McNamara wanted to write. We can hope, and trust, that it was. But we don't know. And that makes it difficult to critique. However, I came to this hoping for something that might humanize the true crime genre a little more: that might provide me with some of the understanding I seek in myself, as well as more broadly. I came away largely empty-handed.

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